The O'Briens

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THE O'BR] ENS.

W. A. LINDSAY, K

A. IK1N. COLL., CANTAH.,

M1IHM I I I Ml [.!•:. HAUKIS'l IK A 1 -LAW

Reprinted from the St. James s Maga-Jue and United Empire R,vie;,
for Jmtuary, i S76.

M 0

LONDON AND AYLhSlil L\ :
PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON, AND VINEY.

STL

Lindsay, \J
0 ' Eriens

1SC8109

1876

A

TUE O'BRIENS.

tej^HE illustrious race of O'Brien has left an indelible mark on
l^rtfi the history of Ireland. For the proper comprehension of

that history one most necessary qualification

™ of the Celtic races.

the study
Long before the English invasion oi
Ireland there existed a people highly civilized, a system of law, a mode
of succession, and a patriarchal government both of Chinch and State-
in that country, which, whether for good or evil, has left an influence on
the Irish that no time or policy is at all likely to eradicate. Vet many
people who are ignorant of the Brehon code, of the law of tanistry in
succession to land, and of all the triumphs and sorrows of the Celtic race,
think themselves acquainted for all necessary pi rposes with the history
of Ireland. Such a misconception is unfortunate wherever it may exist,
but it becomes more than unfortunate when it animates the policy of
rulers, only too liable to be hated in the country which is ruled.

It would far transcend the capacity of an article to give a sketch of
Irish history from a Celtic point o( view, but it may contribute to inspire
some with the desire of such a stud)-, if we offer a few remarks upon the
great family we have named — a family which for centuries occupied
a kingdom; which possesses a longer line of ancestry in the male line
than (to the best of our belief) any other now included in the social
life of Creat Britain ; and which fills perhaps the most prominent place
amongst the Celtic clans of Ireland. For our authority we refer to the
historical memoir of the O'liriens written by Mr. John O'Donoghue,
barrister-atdaw, and published in Dublin in the year i860. This work
is of great interest, condensing into one volume a history of no mean
importance, and written with great apparent care and accuracy.

The ancestor of the O'Briens was Cormac Cas, second son of Olioll
Olum by his wife Sabia, daughter to Con of the Hundred battles,
KinLr of Ireland. Of Con it is curious to record that lie divided Ireland

2 THE O'BRIENS.

with Mogha Nuadhat, King of Minister, the father of Olioll Olum,

after a long and indecisive struggle. This division resulted in the
northern half of the kingdom being named Lealhcuin, or Con's hall,
and in the sonihern being named Leath-Mogha, or Mogha's half. In
the language of the people, these descriptions subsist to the present day.
Mogha, the male ancestor of the O'Briens, was of the Heberian, and
Con, his father-in-law, of the Hemeronian descent from Milesius. Authen-
tic history does not, however, witness to any long period antecedent to
the date of this division, which occurred in the year of our Lord [66.
It is material to notice the manner in which the dynasties which ruled
•over Ireland during these centuries became established. Olioll Olum
settled the succession to the throne of Minister upon the descendants
of three sons, who were alternately to furnish a king. This settlement
leal, as might reasonably be presumed, to much intrigue and many wars,
but it continued to be regarded as sacred for several hundred y^ais.
The first successor to Olioll as King of Minister was his grandson,
Fiacha Muilleathan, the contemporary of Cormac, monarch of Ireland.
Fiacha was succeeded by Moghcorb, son of Cormac Cas, the second son
of Olioll Olum, in accordance with the alternate rule of succession
already mentioned. In the meantime Muireadhach Tireach established
himself on the supreme throne altera struggle with his cousins, the three
Collas. lie reigned for thirty years, and was succeeded by his son
Eochy Muighmheadhoin. This Eochy had two wives, of whom the
second was Carinna, daughter of the King of Britain, and mother of
Niall, of the Nine Hostages, in the descendants of which Prince the
monarchy of Ireland rested for no less than six centuries.

Niall became Monarch of Ireland in A.D. 378, being elected thereto
on the death of his uncle, Crimthan (who had been raised to the throne
during the infancy of Eochy's children), while Brian, eldest half-brother
to Niall, became King of Connaught, and ancestor of the O'Conors.
lie, Niall, had fourteen sons, ancestors of a great many Irish families,
whose names it is not necessary here to mention ; and after a reign of
twenty-seven years was succeeded by his nephew Dathi, the last Pagan
monarch of Ireland. Dathi was killed by lightning at the foot of the
Alps, at a date fixed by the hour Masters at 428. Laeghaire, the eldest
son of Niall, then mounted the throne ; and it was in his reign that
Palladius was sent — "ad scotos in Christum credentes " — by Pope
Celestine. His mission was not very successful, but he was the
forerunner of the great Irish apostle S. Patrick, who arrived in 432, and
became the means of the conversion of the whole island to the Christian
faith. The conversion of Laeghaire was followed by that of Aengus,
King of Munster.

THE O'BRIENS. 3

As this period must, therefore, be considered the most important
in the an< ient history of Ireland, we think it opportune to lay down the
principles in which the monarchy and government of the country were
founded. Mr. O'Donoghue has put this in our power by giving in
liis preface the translation of a most interesting passage in the work of
O'Flaherty, author of the "Oxygia," from which we extract the fol-
lowing facts : — ■

In every order of dynasty, from the chief prince downwards, the rule
belonged to a special family, descendants of the founder of the dominion
in question. Any male descendant of such founder was capable of
being elected for life by the people to the chief dignity, and Mas there-
fore Styled Righdauma, or the material of a king. The ruler thus
united in himself right of hereditary descent, and that derived from
the election of the ruled. Hut the choice could not be arbitrary, it being
confined to the uncle, brother, son, or other near relation of the last
chief, according to the law that the selection should be made of one who
was the eldest and worthiest of the blood of the defunct prince. On
choosing the ruler, a successor was at the same time appointed, who was
to assume the sovereignty in case of the prince's death. This person
was styled die Tanist, from, it is said, the ring linger, which, being next in
length anil position to the middle linger, illustrated the rank of the Tanist
relatively to the lord. There are, however, many other suggestions as to
the primary meaning of the word. In the constitution there were three
orders: i. Kings; 2. Druids, and literary persons ; 3. Handicraftsmen and
plebeians, of which last class there were seven ranks, each possessing pecu-
liar laws and privileges. After the introduction of the Christian religion
there existed a supreme monarch and a primate, and in each province
a subordinate king and an archbishop, while in each petty kingdom there
was besides a ruler — under whom were taoiseachs or barons — a bishop
and abbot, with the judge or brehon to administer the law and the ollavs
in the other professions, who had over him a higher order in the province,
the highest being styled ollavs of the entire kingdom.

From the establishment of the Catholic Church as the successor of
the ancient Druids to the year 908, it is not material to our subject
to dwell on Irish history. During these centuries the descendants
of Niall kept possession of the supreme monarchy, and those of
Olioll Olum continued to be kings of Minister. The children of
Cormac Cas were not, however, allowed their lair share of the alter-
nate succession established by their progenitor; and actuated by a
sense of justice, Cormac MacCuillenan, bishop of Cashel, and King of
Minister, named Korean, King of Thomond, as his successor on the
provincial throne. His endeavour was not, however, immediately sue-

4 THE VBRIENS.

cessful. It was followed (after a severe struggle) by the treacherous murder
of Mahon, grandson ofLorcan, at the instigation ul" Molloy MacBi in,
King of Desmond, who observed with great alarm the rising power of the
Dalgeais, of which races the kings ofThomond were the chiefs. Molloy
was assisted in his conspiracy by Donovan, King of Hy-Fidhgeinte, a
territory now included in Limerick, and by [var, King of the Danes, in
Limerick.

'1'hc result of his crime was to call to the head of his race Brian,
brother oi Mahon, whose historical designation is Boroimhe, talon,
according to some, from an earthern fort of which the remains are .-.till
visible in Killaloe. Within ten years of his brother's murder he defeated
and blew two successive Danish kings, as well as the Donovan we have
mentioned. In 978 he further annihilated the power of Molloy, whom
he slew with his own hand, and thus achieved the crown of Munster.
His genius and character being well understood by Maelseachlain,
Monarch of Ireland, that prince, after defeating the Danes, who,
being repeatedly reinforced by their countrymen, were a constant
scourge to Ireland, twice invaded Thomond— these inroads being
revenged by Brian with similar expeditions. At last the quarrel
ended in an alliance against the Danes, their common enemy, whom
the two princes routed at Glenmama. The name Wicklow was adopted
for the district in commemoration of this victory, which further resulted
in the taking of Dublin. The alliance, however, only lasted until its object
was attained, and Brian now determined to grasp the supreme throne.
Supported by a Danish contingent (which included cavalry), he waged a
continual war, at first unsuccessfully, until the year 1002, when, having
collected a large army from Leinster and Munster, he proceeded to
Athlone, and was there acknowledged Supreme Monarch ot Ireland—
Maelseachlain subsiding into the kingship of Meath.

The revolution thus effected was another crisis in Irish history. By-
it a dynasty which had ruled for six centuries was displaced, and a
descendant of Heber supplanted the elder race of Heremon, accom-
plishing at the commencement of the eleventh century the object for
which Mogha Nuadhat had contended in the second.

From 1002 to 1004, Brian consolidated his power as King of Ireland,
while the Danes prepared for a final effort to acquire ascendancy
in the country. War was at last precipitated by various causes. From
Torfceus' history of the Orkneys we learn that on the invitation of
Sitric (a Dane), stepson of Brian — whose mother, Kormlod, had been
put away for immorality of life— Sigurd, Earl of Orkney, invaded
Ireland. His reward was to be the hand of Kormlod, and Brian's
throne. The lad)-, however, ottered her hand also to Brodar, a pirate

THE OBRIENS. 5

(who, together with his companion Upsacus, was reputed invincible),
as a means of securing his support. This Brodar had been a professed
Christian, and an ordained deacon, but had relapsed into idolatry,
plunged into all sorts of wickedness, and is further said to have en-
gaged in magic. Upsacus refused, however, to engage in the design,
and on the contrary went over to the support of Brian, adopting the
Christian faith.

Such was the prelude to the battle of Clontarf. There were Danes
and Ii isli on both sides ; but it was without doubt the great and last
struggle for ascendancy in Ireland by the two races. It was fought in
1014, and the Irish conquered. But so terrible was the fight that the
losses of the Danes alone are computed at thousands. Brian himself
was slain, as also his son Morrogh, his grandson Torlogh, and his
nephew Conaing, while many Irish chiefs fell with them. The battle
was continued by Maelseachlain, who succeeded Brian both in the com-
mand of the army and in the occupation of the throne, from which
twelve years previously he had been deposed, and the victory attained
was so complete that, as we have said, it settled finally the question of
ascendancy in Ireland.

It is from Brian, the great hero of their race, that the O'Briens take
their name. Although they did not retain the monarchy of Ireland,
and failed to keep possession of Minister, his descendants became one
of the greatest families o( their country, producing not a tew persons
of celebrity, some mention of whom will follow.

After the death of Brian, a quarrel for the succession commenced
among his sons, of whom Donogh, the younger, was the more able.
I Jut the Irish respect for seniority having prevailed, it is said that
Donogh caused his brother to be murdered. Be this as it may, he
established himself on the throne of Thomond, notwithstanding that
he had been defeated in battle previously. In 1026, we find him king
of the southern half of Ireland, and striving for the supreme monarchy,
vacant by the death of Maelseachlain, a prize which only escaped him
in consequence of the resistance of his own son-in-law Diarmid, after-
wards King of Leinster. After several battles, the fortune of war declared
itself finally against Donogh, who, abandoning the contest, departed to
Rome, where he died in 1064, having left with the Pope the crown and
regalia of Ireland. More than a century later this crown was given by
Adrian IV. to Henry II., King of England, as a symbol of the sove-
reignty of Ireland.

Although Donogh left issue, the chieftainship now returned to the
elder line ; and Torlogh, son of Teige, elder brother of Donogh, became
King of Thornond.

6 THE O'BRIENS.

This prince attempted, like liis uncle, to regain the power oi Brian
Boroimhe, but he never succeeded in acquiring lull possession ol the
supreme monarchy. 'This dignity was reserved lor his son Mortogh, who
was the last O'Brien who reigned over Ireland. He ii was who granted
Cashel to the Church, a grant such as no king ever made before, being
" without any claim of layman or clergyman upon it, bul the religion of
"Ireland in general." Thus the Royal Palace of so many kings, the
place where the gospel was preached by S. l\u:i< k, was devoted to the
service of the Church for ever.

It was at this period that the power of the O'Briens began to decline.
Mortogh died in i i 19. His tame appears to have reached beyond the
limits of his country, for it is related by Malmesbury that Henry I. of
England availed himself of his advice. None of his descendants, how-
ever, occupied a similar position or dignity. It would be wearisome to
attempt any chronicle of the many feuds with which the records of the
race abound. Irish history is at this period made up of wars. The
custom of making a " hosting" or invasion of some neighbouring pro-
vince whenever a new chief succeeded, together with that of only re-
cognising him as supreme who could obtain the greatest number of
hostages from his compeers, led, as might be expected, to constant
anarchy and civil war. It will suffice if we notice only such chiefs of
the name as were contemporaneous with the great events which befell
their country.

First of these then is Donaklmore, who succeeded to the chieftainship
of O'Brien in 1 1 68, and became afterwards King of Minister. It was
during this period (1169) that the English fust landed in Ireland under
the Earl of Pembroke. They came as the forerunners of a new dynasty
destined to overthrow the ancient race of Milesius.

Pembroke, commonly called Strongbovv, married Eva, the daughter of
Dermot, King of Leinster, and on his death claimed the whole of his
lands, on the principle of the feudal law of succession. This claim he-
was the more able to enforce, since all the Irish princes were engaged in
war with each other. The next event was the landing of King Henry II.
to assume the sovereignty now conferred on him by the Pope.

Strongbow at once surrendered his castle of Waterford to Henry as
his liege lord, and his example was speedily followed by the Macarthy,
Prince of Desmond, who gave up the city of Cork and did homage to
the king. The King of Thomond surrendered Limerick, doing homage
and undertaking to pay tribute to his liege lord. Then followed
a synod at Cashel, presided ovei by the Bishop of Lismore as papal
legate, at which the regulation was passed that the Church of Ireland
should conform to the Church of England, and accept the usages, rites,

THE O'BRIENS. 7

ami ceremonies of Salisbury. The king then proceeded to Dublin,
instituted several nobles, gave the Earl «.l Pembroke chief authority as
his representative, and departed to England in 117;. The most note-
worthy submission which ensued was thai of R iderick O'Conor, King
of Connaught, who sent deputies to Windsor to make a special Heat),

and i\o homage to the new sovereign, who sent him in return the peace
and sovereignty of all Ireland.

In [315 occurred the invasion of Ireland by Edward Bruce, who was
sent by his brother to follow up the advantage gained at Bannockbum.
Anion-' the first to welcome the new invader was Donogh O'Brien,
whose grandfather had been murdered by I >e Clare. 1 he result of this
step was that on the failure of the Scotch expedition his cousin Mortogh
was acknowledged King of Thomond, to which dignity he had in any case
an elder claim. In 1466 we find the reigning O'Brien not only at war
with the English, but actually attempting die supremacy of his great
ancestor; a circumstance which indicates that at this period there was a
temporary decline of English prestige.

We have now to record the great change in the position of the
race of O'Brien, which signalises the period of their passing into
the new social system. In 1539 died Conor O'Brien, and there
succeeded to the kingship of Thomond his brother Monogh, up to
this time Tanist. The title King of Ireland was now first assumed
by the English monarch, and an act of confirmation was passed by a
Parliament held in Dublin in 1 54 1 j the previous year having wit-
nessed the passing of another act by which Henry VIII. was declared
supreme head on earth of the Church of Ireland — all appeals to Rome
being taken away. An ancient statute was at the same time revived
prohibiting marriages between the English and Irish. The Irish chiefs
attempted to rebel, but failed to make any serious stand, while they
found the formation even of a confederacy impossible. Further resist-
ance to the king was therefore abandoned, and in 15 4 2 Monogh O'Brien
attended the Deputy at Limerick, and proffered terms of absolute sub-
mission to King Henry as supreme monarch. The King in reply sug-
gested that O'Brien should apply for some suitable dignity, such as
would render his presence at the counsels of his sovereign necessary.
The result of this negotiation was the creation of the Earldom of Tho-
mond. But as it happened that Monogh had succeeded as Tanist, and
not as heir male, an arrangement was made that the Earldom of
Thomond should be settled in remainder to Donogh, son of Monogh's
elder brother, and that a barony of Inchiquin should Lie created to descend
to the heir male of Monogh's body. This recognition of his nephew's
rights on the part of the Tanist, and the action of the King in conforming

8 THE VBRIENS.

to the Irish law of succession, reflect great credit on all concerned.
Monoghand Donogh then proceeded to England, and at the palace of
Greenwich on l^t July, [543, O'Brien was created Earl ofThomond by
belting and investiture, his nephew being made Baron ol lbri< kan. The
MacWilliam was at the same time created Earl of Clanrickarde. Thus
ended the kingship of Thoinond, ami from henceforth we treat of earls
instead of kings. Seventeenth in descent from Brian Boroihme, monarch
of all Ireland, representative of a royal rate for many previous centuries,
Monogh becomes the feudal vassal of a Norman dynasty, and ac< epts,
on behalf of his race, an earldom for a tributary crown. Wise in his
opportunity, he saved his familyfrom obliteration, and gave his descendants
and successors the opportunity of attaining a wider renown for their race.

Monogh, Karl of Thomond, (.lied in 1551, and his nephew Donogh
succeeded him. He procured a new creation, limiting the honour to
his heirs, in accordance with the Norman system, and his lands were at
the same time settled to devolve for the future in accordance with the
English Common Law. The result of these proceedings was a rebellion
on the part of those members of the family who suffered by the change
in the law of succession ; but in 1555 peace was restored by the action
of the Deputy. There followed in 155S, on the 10th July, a remarkable
ceremony in the cathedral of Limerick, — where, alter divine service,
Conor, 3rd Earl of Thomond, renounced for ever the name O'Brien,
and some of the freeholders ofThomond at the same time promised to
be faithful subjects of the Queen, and oppose any person who should
presume thenceforward to take or use the name ol O'Brien. Earl
Conor reigned until 1580, timing which period he was sometimes at
war; but before the conclusion of his life he waited upon Queen
Elizabeth, and obtained from her new charters of his lands, together
with nearly all the church livings in Thomond, including the lands of
the dissolved monastery of Clare.

It will be convenient now to state that from the time of Monogh,
Earl ofThomond, the race of O'Brien is represented by four principal
families: I. The Earls of Thomond, Barons of Ibrickan, descended
from Donogh, 2nd Earl of Thomond; II. The Viscounts of Clare, of
whom the first was the second son of Conor, 3rd Earl of Thomond ;
111. The Barons of Inchiquin, eldestAeirs male of the first Earl's body,
— subsequently Earls of Inchiquin, and Marquesses of Thomond; IV.
The O'Briens of Lemeneagh and Drornoland, a family usually designated
by the latter territory, and springing from Donogh, younger son of
the first Earl. All these different houses produced men worthy oi
mention ; but at the present moment the first three are in the male
line extinct.

THE O'BRIENS. 9

We will conclude our historical sketch by giving a short account of
each of these families.

I. Of the eldest line we have mentioned Earls Donogh and Conor
the latter of whom died in 1580. To him succeeded Donogh, afterwards
called the great Earl, whose attendance we find recorded at the Par-
liament of 15S5, together with his cousin Lord Inchiquin. Sir John
Perrot, President of Munster, su< < eeded this year in indiu ing these peers
and their \assals to take out new giants of their lands in order to sim-
plify their tenure. A commission was issued directed to Sir Robert
Bingham, Governor of Connaught, the Earl of Thomond and others, to
call the nobility, spiritual and temporal, before them in order to pave
the way lor a new '-Indenture.'' This Indenture was entered into in
the counties of Clare and Thomond by the Earl of Thomond, the Lord
Inchiquin, and six different O'Briens ; from which it follows that at
that time there were, at least, eight houses of the name of sul!i< ient
standing to treat with the representative of the Crown. The Indenture
completed the settlement of Thomond. By it every head and chief of
a sept was deprived of title and tribute, as well as every lord oi a
taoiscach or barony, with the one exception of Macnamara, lord of
West Clancuilan, who did not sign the composition. Similar settle-
ments were made in Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, and Sligo. It was
now that the worst features of the English rule may be said to have
begun. Previously the races had been rivals; but now that a union
was to some extent effected, the stronger began to tyrannize over the
weaker. We find that in 1586 the Governor of Connaught put many
persons to death, including women and children. It is impossible
of course to realise all the circumstances of the time — circumstances
which may have made terrorism to be the only mode of self-defence ;
but neither is it possible to read of the barbarities committed in this
and the following centuries without horror and disgust. The O'Briens,
at any rate, loyally fulfilled their part of the contract with the English
Crown. We find them under the leadership of Lord Thomond and Eord
Inchiquin aiding in the suppression of a rising made in 1597 by O'Neill,
Earl of Tyrone, with the result of having the earldom invaded by O'Neill
in revenge. In 1599 the Earl of Thomond accompanied the Earl of Essex •
in his progress through the south of Ireland, and in 1601, as Governor of
Clare, he held a session of gaol delivery at Ennis, when sixteen persons
were put to death. In this year died Mac Ibrien-Ara, an important
member of the clan, high in favour with Queen Elizabeth, who be- '
stowed on his second son, Mortogh, the bishopric of Killaloe. The
Earl then took part in the siege of Kinsale, which had been occupied
by the Spaniards, and on his return to Clare found it necessary to sup-

,o THE O'BRIENS.

press a new outbreak among some of the rebellious vassals of his earl-
dom. It would seem that the notion of superiority over the other
septs of Thomond was not yet abandoned by tins chief; ami there is
extant, under the elate of [591, a curious document, by which the
O'Loughlins, of Burren, bound themselves to obey him as their chief,
and not to alienate a sod of their -round without his consent. The
original of this interesting deed is said to have remained with the Mac -
Clanchys, of Knockfin— hereditary judges or brehons of Thomond -
until [684. In 1 00 3 the succession of King James I. rendered it
necessary that all the oaths of allegiance to the English sovereign should
be taken over again. The enemies of the new order of things of course
took advantage of this necessity to raise scruples of conscience.
Recusants became numerous, and even judges retired from the Bum h
lather than take the new oath of supremacy. No doubt impatience of
the new system must have been intensified as the objects ot the Reform-
ing party in the Church became not only obvious, but likely to be
attained ; and as Puritan views began to influence English society,
and that society to influence Irish life in consequence ot the closer
connection which the recent settlements had established, the claims
of faith led the consciences of the Irish somewhat in the same
direction as did the love of their ancient clan life.

U Ireland had been unanimous, the new sovereignty must have been
destroyed. Fortunately for the cause of civilization that unanimity was
impossible. Not only had some of the great chiefs — such as the
O'Briens — recognised the true path of progress, and determined to lead
their people in it; but (and perhaps this had a greater influence on the
Irish) the sovereignty had been granted to England by the head of that
Church whose faith they preferred to retain. Had there been any
"legitimate" king of the ancient line, it might have been different. As
it was, the choice lay between the feudal supremacy of a Norman king,
whose claim was based on Papal authority, and the anarchy of perpetual
civil war. The King was determined to summon a Parliament, which
met in May, 16 [3. In order to secure a majority for the Government,
forty new boroughs were created, and in the result the assembly con-
sisted of 125 Protestants and 101 recusants — their names applying pro-
bably rather to the political creed of the parties than to the religious.
As is well known, the result was a hopeless quarrel. The Earl of
Thomond supported the Crown, and was created Lord President of
Minister, with which province he succeeded in getting the county of
Clare incorporated, instead of as heretofore with Connauglit.

It was now that the miserable policy was adopted by England of dis-
possessing the Irish gentry of their lands, on various frivolous pretexts,

THE O'BRIENS. u

in order to found English plantations. The proprietors having enteral
into the arrangements for altering the tenure of land in 1585, had sur-
rendered their estates, but in ignorance of the new law omitted to enrol

their surrenders and to take out letters patent. The omission was sup-
plied by the King, and ^3,000 was disbursed for the enrolment in
Chancery; but this necessary formality, owing either to the negligence

or the underhand dealing of the officials, never was completed.

Here was the origin of all subsequent evils. Persons who coveted
estates, showed the titles to them to be defective, and that the lands
had vested in the Crown. The King then readily agreed to schemes
lor plantations, thus committing an injustice to the old lords of the soil
which produced the wars of the seventeenth century, as well as the
agrarian bitterness of which some trace remains even to the present
day.

At ill is time the Lord Deputy was the famous Wentworth, afterwards
Earl ol Strafford, and the planting of settlements was no mean part of
this great ruler's policy, lie atoned, however, for his injustice, of
which perhaps he was scarcely conscious, by vast improvements in the
finances, as well as by an energetic and successful attempt to destroy
the pirates who continued to infest the coasts of Ireland. Such was the
prelude to the drama which ended in the Parliamentary rebellion in
England and the murder of the King. The principal mover in all these
events on the part of the O'Briens was Lord Inchiquin, of whom we shall
speak presently. AYe find Lord Thomond acquiescing in the Protecto-
rate in 1658, and the eldest line seem to have had little further influ-
ence in politics. The last Karl died in 1741, when the chieftainship
passed to the line of the Viscounts of Clare.

II. The first Viscount of Clare was brother of Donogh, fourth Karl
of Thomond, and was created Viscount by King Charles in 16C2,
principally on account of the loyal exertions of his grandson. The
letters patent bear testimony to the loyalty of these O'Briens, called
of Carrigaholt ; a loyalty which was again exemplified at the Revolution
of 1688, when Daniel, third Viscount Clare, took up arms for King
James II. His example was not followed by the other leaders of the
clan, and it was certainly fortunate for the O'Briens as a race that no
second restoration took place. In the proscribed list presented to King
James in 1689, by Nagle the attorney-general, there are to be found
the names of Thomond, Inchiquin, and of Conor O'Brien. As it was,
the lands of Lord Clare were confiscated by the Prince of Orange, and
bestowed on Joost van Keppel, ancestor to the present Lord Albemarle,
who illustrated the sagacity and prudence of his nationality by selling
them as soon as possible for the sum of ,£10,161 17s. 3d, the purchasers

i2 THE a BR JENS.

being tenants holding of Lord Clare, named Francis Burton, Nicholas
Westby, and James Macdonnell. Daniel, son of Lord Clare, now
departed from Ireland, at the head of an Irish army consisting of 6000
men, and entered the service of the King of France. After the capitulation
of Limerick, in 1691, twelve more Irish regiments followed their country-
men. Jims was formed the celebrated Irish Brigade, the romance and
daring of whose history tires the imagination even ol a nineteenth century
Student. In 1692 they defeated die Swedes at the attack of Diiden-
haven, being then known as the King of England's Guards. We find
them constantly exhibiting prodigies of valour on the Rhine, in France,
Germany, and Italy. In [693 Daniel died of his wounds received at
Pignerol, and Lieut. -Colonel Lee received the command. The next feat
of the Brigade was the defence of Cremona in 1702, when, a number
of German soldiers Inning been secretly introduced into the town by an
aqueduct, the Irish regiments of Burke and Dillon defended the l'o gate
with such persistency that the enemy was forced to retreat : the magni-
ficence of this exploit attracted the attention of all Europe, and gave ri.->c
to the statement in the English House of Commons that the Irish had
done more harm to the allies than they eould possibly have done at home
if left in possession of their estates. Lord Clare, the fifth Viscount,
commanded the Brigade at the first battle of Blenheim, when the
imperialists were routed,— in great measure owing to the conduct of
the Irish. '1'he second, and more celebrated, action fought on the same
field had a very different result ; but even here the Irish valour was
remarkable, for, when twenty-seven battalions and twelve squadrons of
French dragoons surrendered themselves as prisoners of war, Lord Clare
cut his way through a German corps, and led his three regiments by a
masterly retreat to the Rhine. At Ramilies he fell mortally wounded ;
but in this action his troop took two English colours, which were hung
up in the Irish Benedictine Convent at Ypres.

Charles, fifth Viscount, was succeeded in his title and command by
his son, during whose minority the charge of the regiment was entrusted
to Monogh O'Brien, of Carrigogunnell, who died in Spain in the year
1720, just as Lord Clare had been initiated into the art of war by his
uncle the Duke of Berwick. After the Peace of Utrecht, the young
Viscount visited his friends in England. The Earl of Thomond was
then in high favour with George I., who created him Viscount Tadcaster
in England. By his chief and relative Lord Clare was presented to the
King, and attempts were made to procure his peaceable succession to
the earldom and lands (for his cousin being childless he was the next
heir) ; but the condition being insisted upon of uniformity to the
Anglican Church, which Lord Clare declined, these attempts failed.

77/ A" ailRIENS. ,;

Returning to Prance, he served in the campaign against Germany oi
1733-35; alu' aL 'ls conclusion he was peiitcd a mareschal-de-camp.
His cousin dying in 1741, he assumed thcT title, and was thenceforward
known as the Mareschal Comte de Thom-ond. The crowning triumph
of the Irish Brigade was obtained at the battle of Fontenoy, when
victory lay almost within the grasp oi the English, and was snatched
from them by the charge of the Irish, who defeated the advancing
column, and gave time to the French lor recovery. Such is the account
of Mr. Crowe in his History of France. Lord ('hue married late in life
Marie de Chiflreville, Marchioness of ChifTreville, a Norman heiress, by
whom he had two sons and a daughter. It was in his presentation at
court after this marriage that lie made the following celebrated reply :
"Mareschal," said the King, "some of your countrymen give me a
great deal of trouble." ''Sire," replied the Count, "your Majesty's
enemies make the same complaint in every part of the world." At his
death in 1761, the Comte de Thomond was succeeded by his son
Charles, seventh Viscount Clare, and Earl of Thomond. He died
issueless in 1774, the last heir male of the eldest line of O'Brien, the
headship of which now passed to the descendants of the d'anist and his
successors in the barony of Inchiquin. It remains but to record the
extinction of his regiment, which occurred only when the monarchy it
had served was doomed and dethroned. It received from the King of
Fiance, when obliged by the convention to part with his Irish, a banner
bearing the proud testimonial — " 1692-1792. Semper et ubique fideles."

III. We have already recorded the origin of the Lords of Inchiquin,
and the loyalty with which the baron of that name supported his sovereign
in 1597. The grandson of this lord — Monogh — who succeeded to the
barony in 1624, became the principal leader of the O'Briens during the
parliamentary wars. He was appointed vice-president of Minister in
1640, and did good service to the Crown in suppressing a rebellion at
Cork in 1642. In 1643 he proceeded to Oxford, to solicit the office of
President of Minister, but being unsuccessful in his suit, and finding
that he had been calumniated, he returned to Ireland alienated from
his master. Having thrown in his cause with the parliamentary army,
Inchiquin took a very prominent part in the Irish campaign. The
journals of the time are full of his proceedings. It is, however, due to
him to say that the enemies against whom he fought were as much at
war with the King as with the Parliament. A serious attempt was
made by the Roman Catholics, acting under the advice of John Baptist
Rinuccini, Prince and Archbishop of Fermo in Italy, who had been
accredited as Nuncio extraordinary, to shake off the yoke of England.

Thus the English party, whether Royal or Parliamentarian, were,

i I THE O'tiKIENS.

however divided, fighting on the same side in Ireland. When, however,
Lord Inchiquin saw to what an extent of rebellion the Parliament was
leading him, he seems to have been tow lied with remorse, and in 1647,
when his command had expired, being called upon by Lord Li le,
the Parliamentary Deputy, to surrender it, he declined to do so. The
murder of the King, in 1649, having added its culminating crime to the
rebellion, Inchiquin threw in his lot with those who at once proclaimed
King Charles II. \\\> resistance to the Parliament, in company with
the Marquess of Ormond, was not, however, protracted, and seeing that
further attempts would be unavailing, the two lords embarked at Gal
way for France. Immediately afterwards Ireton look Limerick, where
he massacred in cold blood four-and-twenty persons, including two
bishops.

Lord Inchiquin now rendered great service to France l>y inducing
some thousands of his countrymen, who had entered the service of Spain,
to abandon it. He was at the time created Earl by King Charles II.,
who nominated him and Ormond on the Privy Council. He was
shortly afterwards taken prisoner by an Algerine corsair, but was soon
liberated.

The Earl of Inchiquin undertook the charge of Monster as Vice-
President in 1665, and died in 1674. He has been described as a
relentless persecutor of Catholics, but it ought not to be forgotten that,
during the period of his activity, resistance to the Roman Catholics
meant resistance to foreign invasion. His Protestantism seems to have
been rather of a political character, and we hud that timing his exile lie
wished his son to be brought up as a Roman Catholic.

His son William, second earl, supported the cause of the Prince of
Orange at the Revolution. He was appointed Governor of Jamaica,
which office he held till his death, in 1691. His son William succeeded
him as third earl, and served in the Privy Council during the reigns of
Anne and George I. The fourth earl became Governor of Clare on the
death of the eighth Earl of Thomond, and at his death the bucces^ion
devolved upon his nephew, Monogh, all his sons having died in his life-
time. Owing to this failure of heirs to Karl William, the estates of
Thomond, which had been settled on his sons by the will of the
eighth earl, passed under the same instrument to Percy Wyndham.
These ancient lands were thus conveyed away from the race of O'Brien,
and are possessed at the present day in accordance with this will by
Lord Leconneld.

Monogh, fifth Karl of Inchiquin, was created in 1S00 Marquess of
Thomond, a title which subsisted until 1855, when it became extinct in
the person of James, third Marquess, and Admiral in the Navy. This

THE GBRIENS. 15

nobleman was the last heir male of the Tan is t earl's eldest son, ami the
barony of Inchiquin, carrying with it the headship of the clan, passed
again to a collateral, die next heir being the head of the family of
1 )romoland.

IV. Donogh, younger son of the Tanist, was seated at Lemencagh.
1 lis grandson, Donogh, was knighted in 1624 by King Charles I., and
died in 1037. His successor, Conor, took up arms for the King in the
civil war, and assisted Lord Inchiquin to maintain order in the county
of Clare. He fell in a skirmish at Inchicronan, with the troops of
Ludlow, who occupied for a long period the baronial house, from
this time deserted by the family. His son was barely ten years old
when he died. He was restored to his estates by Charles 11., and
created a baronet, and his descendants constantly served as members in
Parliament for the county of Clare. His son, Sir Lucius, was married
to Catherine Keightley, a cousin of the Queens Mary and Anne, but
died in the lifetime of his father, so that his grandson, Edward, suc-
ceeded as second baronet. This gentleman was declared member of
Parliament, 1727, in lieu of George Pardon, upon the ground that per-
sons who, since 1697, had married Papist wives, and had failed to
make them conform to die established religion within one year, had no
right to vote at elections ! Sir Ldward was also elected on the accession
of George III., his son Lucius being returned for the borough of Ennis.
After a membership of thirty-eight years, Sir Edward died in 1765, and
was succeeded by Sir Lucius O'Brien, as third baronet. No inconsider-
able portion of Mr. O'Donoghue's able work is devoted to the career of
Sir Lucius, who appears to have been the greatest authority in matters
of commerce and industry possessed by the Irish House of Commons.
He it was who proposed and carried the bill for establishing judges in
their seats for life, like their English brethren; who was ordered by
the House to prepare bills for reducing the rate of interest, relieving the
distress in trade, and who drew attention to the scandals of the pension
list. In 1 7 v S Sir Lucius proceeded to .London, to watch the bills for
extending to Ireland the trade pri /lieges enjoyed by the colonies, and
which were strenuously, opposed by die mercliants of the principal
English towns, an opposition which was only. ultimately overcome by a
resolution on the part of the Irish not to use for the future any English
manufactured goods. The boon wac at last extorted, but the manner
of the victory, together with the martial spirit which had now, through
the raising of the volunteers, overspread the country, led to the further
demand for a free ami independent Parliament. Sir Lucius O'Brien
delivered a speech upon the subject of the Portuguese trade, in which
he recommended his countrymen to call on the King of Ireland to

1968109

THE O'BRIENS.

assert the rights of the kingdom ; and the passage made a marked im-
pression on the House, li would be inappropriate to enter upon the
declaration of Irish parliamentary independence in 1782. Such a sub-
ject requires to be examined in greater detail than is possible at the
end of a family history. Suffice it to .say that the Act of Union was
brought about by no cause more powerful than the sense oi incon-
venience which two independent Parliaments within the same empire
were found to produce. In the Act of Union itself Sir Lucius had no
part, tor he died in 1794, thus ending a life of the greatest value to lus
country. His sun Edward did all in his power to resist the passing of
the act, not only by opposing it at every stage, but by leaving a bed of
sickness to record a final vote against it. lie died in 1837, when his
son Lucius became filth baronet, and, on the death of the Marquess of
Thomond, head of his ancient race. lie presented a petition to the

House of Lords that he might be declared entitled to the baroncy of
Inchiquin. A resolution to that effect passed the Committee of Privi-
leges on the nth -April, 1S62. It would be obviously undesirable to
make any comments upon the members of the family now living or
recently dead. That one of the race should have allowed his patriotism
to carry him to a point of inexcusable disloyalty must be a cause of
deep regret, and to enter upon his career at the present time would be
out oi place.

The present peer is thirteenth baron of his name, and thirty-ninth
chief of his race since Brian Boroihme, who occupies a middle place in
the reliable pedigree of the clan. So illustrious both for antiquity and
for their merits, this great family is indeed worthy of a memoir; but its
history has a far more impressive claim, that of representing in some
degree an aspect of every phase in Irish history. The O'Briens have,
in short, offered many brilliant examples to Irishmen, and contributed
many heroes to Ireland.

~v\r*

Printed by Hazell, Wutbun, and Viney, London and Aylesbury.

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